So my roommate has a 180g and he got me hooked. I bought a 38g for my bedroom. 12 cichilds and about weeks later ive already bought a 75.

When i bought it the guy told me that it was "ready to go" and didnt need anything. He has three 400 gallon tanks so i assumed that he knew what he was talking about

I went to pick it up and i didn't see any filter. It is a corner overflow system with a sump... but no wet/dry filter. He told me that it uses "natural filtration" and he just puts a bunch of bioballs and crushed coral in the sump and as the water rushes over it and over the baffle it filters. He said that he ran it as a cichild tank for over a year like this...

Will this setup work???

My 38g has two 50g aquaclears on it which i know is way more than i need i jsut have one on either end to help with circulation.

I could take one of those filters off and hand it in the sump if it would help. Or, i coudl get another 50g aquaclear for 30 bucks on amazon and use two in the sump and one in my 38g.

The way I look at filtration is anything you put in a tank stays in there in some form until you pull it out. It will work for bio filtration but you will need to use a gravel vac regularly to keep the gravel clear.

Keep in mind coral will raise pH in an aquarium. In the case of keeping cichlids that shouldn't be an issue.

The way I look at filtration is anything you put in a tank stays in there in some form until you pull it out. It will work for bio filtration but you will need to use a gravel vac regularly to keep the gravel clear.

Keep in mind coral will raise pH in an aquarium. In the case of keeping cichlids that shouldn't be an issue.

I agree with this statement however I would amend the fact that the coral would be fine with African cichlids some other breeds wouldn't be to happy about the higher ph and also you could completely get away with running HOB filters in your set-up I would leave the sump intact pull out any filter media (so just a bare sump) then run HOB filters rated for the total amount of water being used. this would render the sump pretty much useless except it allows for more water flow which is always a plus. The more water you have the easier it is to care for. Hope this helps with your brainstorming good luck

So when i look at a wet/dry filter i see that water falls over a sponge, then into the secon chamber full of bioballs, then over a baffle and back... Looking at the sump filter this guy set up the water comes out into a corner chamber loosely through a filter sock, then into the big main portion with all the bioballs, and then over a baffle and into the last section where it is returned.

What is everyone's thoughts? I am mostly concerned with water clarity... I dont think im wild about the HOB filters now because the water would fall so far in a half-empty sump that it would be really loud.

I can get a 125g wet/dry filter and new return pump (which i need) for 125 on craigslist, that may be best in the long run. Hm...